Political scene welcomes all voices
With the conclusion of the 2012 presidential campaign earlier this month, millions of Americans hit the four-year snooze button and resumed a long political nap. Even though it’s easy to feel burned-out after a year of debates and campaign ads, now may be a good time to make a difference, according to people in the local political scene.
“It’s important for college students to be politically involved, because politics is going to happen whether or not they get involved, and it’s going to shape their lives whether or not they get involved,” said Briana Bowen, a junior majoring in political science and president of the College Democrats USU Chapter.
Bowen said even though the elections are over, now is an ideal time for citizens to get involved in politics. Between elections, politicians can do what they were chosen to do – create policy that will shape the lives of students and citizens.
“We’re in that sweet spot right now where we’ve got a new Congress that’s going to be sworn in in January and a president reinstated, and they will have a couple of years before the really intense campaigning before the next major election cycle comes around,” Bowen said.
Josh Light, CEO of the Logan-based website politicit.com, said social media is a good way to bring up important issues.
“Voicing your concerns is important,” Light said. “A lot of politicians that are currently elected will look to the Internet to find out how people feel about what they’re doing.”
Light said the online community’s response to the Stop Online Piracy Act in early 2012 stopped the bill from passing.
Beside online involvement, students can influence government officials and lawmakers on a variety of levels, from the federal government to city and university governments.
The national level
In the national arena, issues such as the budget crisis, military activity overseas and energy policy raise debate on all sides. Bowen said one of the best ways to speak out on a topic is to write a letter to senators and representatives.
“People say, ‘Our congressman isn’t going to care about the couple of letters that he gets,'” Bowen said. “But few enough constituents actually bother to write letters in about issues that they care about that it really does make a difference. If you get seven or eight well-crafted letters going to a congressman about an issue students feel strongly about, they have to stop and say, ‘Wait a second – this is something that really matters to a member of my constituency.'”
The state level
Ben Wilson, ASUSU executive vice president, said many students don’t realize how open the state legislature is to them.
“You can just go to the state capital or call the secretary of your state congressman and say, ‘I’m concerned about this issue, I was wondering if I could come into your office and talk to you for five minutes about it about it,'” Wilson said. “Nine times out of 10, that congressman is willing to let you into his office and is willing to sit down and chat with you about the issue.”
The decisions of the Utah Legislature can have a huge impact on college students, Bowen said. Among other things, the state legislature approves the budget for USU and approves expenditures of privately-raised funds for construction of buildings on university land.
One of the items to be approved by the legislature in the 2013 session is construction of the proposed Aggie Life and Wellness Center. USU students approved an increase in fees beginning in 2015 to pay for the new recreation center, but the legislature must still approve of the building. More than a decade ago, the legislature voted against a similar project at USU.
“Everything that the state legislature does during its two-month session in the spring – students should be following that closely,” Bowen said.
The local level
“There’s always something cooking at the local level – the city council level,” said Herm Olsen, a member of the Logan Municipal Council. “It’s amazing how complex it really is, even running a small city like Logan.”
Olsen said people would be surprised how welcome their involvement in local government is, especially now that people are politically burned-out by presidential campaigns.
“This is an ideal time to get involved in local politics,” Olsen said. “There are still things occurring and thing going on and so few people who are remotely interested in opening a political door right now, so there is a void.”
Volunteering to help with city or student government projects is another way to make a difference.
Wilson said ASUSU is working on a campaign to educate students about their rights as tenants. Local governments regulate what landlords can and can’t demand of renters, but if the rules aren’t well-known, they won’t be followed. Wilson said he hopes the initiative will decrease the number of students who pay for repairs and services that are a landlord’s responsibility.
ASUSU Student Advocate Christian Orr said the tenants’ rights initiative is only one of several student government projects that could use volunteer help.
“I wish that people were chomping at the bit and coming to my office to jump on these projects,” Orr said. “I have about 10 projects that are sitting on the Think Tank Board right now and I’d say only three or four of them are really strongly rolling right now. I’d absolutely love more involvement.”
Olsen said there’s no lack of opportunity for volunteers in Logan City either.
“There are always projects that are ongoing that if someone wanted to get involved with and be more familiar with, they could call the city council or the mayor,” Olsen said.
– steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu